


12 27 80

by tyomawrites



Series: Numbers [1]
Category: Sons of Anarchy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Gen, M/M, Mayan MC divergence, Mentions of the Mayans MC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-19 08:34:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17597900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tyomawrites/pseuds/tyomawrites
Summary: With all the shit the MC had been going through their numbers were getting low. Sverri Luis Cortez is patched into the club out of necessity for numbers, he’s just shy of twenty two when he gets his prospect patch, a boy with a face that doesn’t match his last name and obviously a death wish.Don’t let anyone tell you that Sverri Cortez was a smart guy, he makes terrible decisions, especially when he catches feelings the pretty biker whose eyes are always haunted. But if Sverri is anything, he's loyal, and he will do anything to save Juice's life.Canon-divergence after the events of S7x12





	1. Chapter 1

Sverri knows that the other prospects talk shit about his name behind his back. Why does he have a mexican name when his face is as pale as his pasty white ass and his hair is as blonde as can be. They talk about his baby face despite his goatee, they bitch about how he doesn’t get snapped at by Gemma, getting the gist real quick about where his place is. He doesn’t say much back to them, he knows better than to pick fights, he's smarter than them. He doesn't need to fight with any of them to prove himself.

He’s really smarter than most the other new prospects. He plays his cards right, gets cozy with Happy, his sponser is good company so he wasn’t all that bad, and most some cases, Happy looks out for him. Happy introduces him down to Juice and Chibs and the rest of the guys and he starts to feel less nervous. He works up a pair of balls, gets into a few scuffles when people insult the people he likes, he buys them rounds, gets them hooked up with some joints from some friends, works muscle for the girls at Caracara (before it got half shut-down) and Diosa and does whatever else they tell him to.

It’s Juice’s eyes that catch his attention first, they’re wide and scared like a deer in headlights. Juice’s eyes always give him away that he’s concerned and freaked out even if he stands with his brothers. Sverri knows he shouldn’t interfere, he’s just a prospect, not even patched into the club but he already wants to cradle Juice’s face and patch him up.

Juice is a cutie, he’s got a good body, Sverri can see that, and his baby face hides that he’s in his early thirties. But he’s also shaky, doesn’t look like he wasn’t meant to be in the club if it wasn’t for the kutte that he wears. Sverri tries to get his attention, he doesn’t know why Juice attracts him so much but he thinks the guy needs a friend.

The first thing Juice does is buy him a drink after everything has semi settled among the shit show that is the clubs business with the IRA. Coke and rum, and he slides the glass over to him with a shaky smile. He returns the smile, a little more confident than Juice’s is but he motions to one of the girls for a drink for Juice.

Later after he manages to coax a few, genuine smiles from Juice and a chuckle or two, it’s Happy that pulls him aside, warns him from getting too close to Juice. There’s brotherly love (even though he’s not even a patched in member) and then there’s the way he’s looking at Juice, Happy says. Sverri holds his hands up, backing away from Happy with a gesture of surrender.

“I’m good sir, won’t be doin anything stupid.” He gives the man a smile and backs up from the bar. Chibs has pulled Juice away before he can say a goodbye to the man. Happy gives him another look when he tries to glance over his shoulder to look for Juice and Chibs and he backs away properly. “I get it, can’t have it looking like something it’s not.”

It’s the only time that Happy pulls him up on it in such an obvious way, but Sverri gets a couple more claps on the back of his head and glares when he tries to get cozy with Juice again. The message is clear,the prospect of him being close with Juice isn’t sitting well the others. Chibs and Happy saddle him with more jobs, driving the van around, escort duty without his kutte on, things that keep him occupied and prove his worth. His hands itch to get his hands on his very own bike once he’s patched in. He itches for the bond and respect that he can see that run through the brothers veins. 

Eventually he hears talk of getting patched in along with Rat, the first of the group of prospects. He gets told to tag along with Rat, Juice, Darby and Tig. Tig makes a joke about his hair and how much of an Aryan he looks and gets a punch for his troubles. With bloodied knuckles, Tig and Rat leave em behind to drive up the dirt road. He leans against the truck with his arms crossed. Juice has his arms draped over the handlebars of his bike and Darby’s sitting inside when they’re ambushed. They get hauled into trucks, Juice gets his head bashed into the car door and one of the guys shoves a gun underneath Sverri’s throat. 

The guy that talks to them once they’re dragged out makes Sverri’s blood boil like he’s on fire, especially when he comments on Juice. Rat’s the first to move, grabbing his gun out and holding it to one of the guys heads.

At Oswald’s, Sverri has to turn away and duck out of the warehouse before he pukes. It’s Happy that notices him squatting over, hand clutched over his mouth, trying to catch his breath between gagging. He grips the back of his kutte and pulls him to his feet, shoving him against the metal of the warehouse and tells him to man up, with a fondness that reminds him that he cares about him. 

Happy drags him in to pick up the pieces that are left of Phil and V-Lin, to move them into one of the larger crates with Juice’s help. He has to hold his breath when he helps Juice and Happy haul them over the sides of the crates. Juice looks shaken, he thinks they both do. It’s Juice that slings an arm around him once they’re done. The guy looks like a wide eyed deer but he pats Sverri’s shoulder with a comforting hand and it’s Juice that props him up while he tries to gather his head around the fact that two people he would possibly called brothers are now dead.

When they get back to T-M Juice pulls him aside to check on him. Sverri’s surprised, when the guy tilts his head to meet his eyes, until he gets a confirmation nod. 

“I’m okay.” He insists and then Juice’s smile is almost blinding for some reason and Sverri feels his stomach twist. He meets Juice’s smile with his own and then pulls Juice in for a hug with a thank you. The hug is tight, Sverri knows, but Juice doesn’t seem to mind as his posture crumbles slightly and curls into the hug. He feels Juice’s shoulders shake slightly underneath his hands and for a second he thinks that Juice is crying but the soft sounds in his ears aren’t sobs. After a bit, Juice pulls away from him and the smile on his face is even wider. 

“Thank you.” His voice is soft and gentle, and when he meets Juice’s eyes he can see a small glint of something that makes him fall a little bit in love with Juice.

When they bury Phil and V-Lin’s body in the crates and set them alight. Juice pulls him back from the flames that make him flinch. The arm across his shoulder is comforting, until Jax orders them to bury them while the flames are still burning. Once the flames are put out, and the grave is properly filled in. Juice gestures towards his bike. Sverri glances around at the others, lingers until Chibs, Tig, Jax and Happy get onto their bikes and speed off. Juice pats the space behind him and he gets on, rides bitch for Juice until they both reach his place.

There’s something gentle about the way Juice does things, it’s gentle but it’s deliberate, and when he pulls Sverri close, traces his fingers down the side of his face. Sverri lets out a small noise, something akin to a whine and a mewl and it makes the look on Juice’s face harden into something that lights a fire in Sverri’s gut. Juice yanks him in with a force that he doesn’t expect, dragging him up into a kiss by the front of his kutte that catches him off guard. His hands drop to the slim dip of Juice’s waist and the noise he lets out against Juice is absolutely embarrassing. Juice seems to like it, pulls him closer before they can even make it to his door. His hands are more confident than Sverri has ever seen him be, reaching down to grope his ass to coax more noises from his mouth. 

By the time Sverri has to pull away to catch his breath, Juice is hard against his hip and Sverri is sporting his own hard on pressed against Juice’s thigh. Juice sneaks his hand away from his ass and reaches around to trail his fingers on the outline of his length. There’s a flush that spreads from Sverri’s cheeks, down to where Juice can’t see but it gets him hot under collar, pretty pale skin covered in a red hot shade. The whine that he lets out is softer, a little more desperate and then Juice pulls his keys out and fumbles with the front door.

The inside of Juice’s place is neat. Everything is organized and the opposite of what Sverri expected as he’s shoved inside. He only gets a few seconds to take in what looks like a few bongs lined up on the inside on the shelves and a couple of e-cigs lying next to them before Juice has his back up against the wall. Juice’s nails scratch against the denim across his thighs, reach around to squeeze at his arse. Sverri’s moans are louder, untamed and it’s the first time Juice has seen him show  passion for anything other than the club. Juice tangles one of his hands into Sverri’s blond hair, the golden locks intertwined around his fingers and he pulls back, exposing his throat. Juice ducks in, sucks a few marks in a trail down his throat and Sverri lets out a heartfelt, desperate noise that drives Juice to roll his hips against Sverri’s. It takes him a minute, but then Juice pulls away and Sverri drops to his knees, hands clutching the black denim on his thighs.

He looks up at Juice like he’s something special. Juice’s expression twists into something warm and the hand in his hair tightens its grip. Juice’s order is soft and Sverri almost misses it. The tilt of his head is cute, and Juice raises an eyebrow before repeating it.

“Take them off.” Juice sounds strong. His voice is more confident, but it has an edge in it, an out. Sverri knows that if he was to say no, Juice would let him out. His eyes drop from Juice’s face to the bulge in Juice’s jeans. He fumbles with Juice’s belt, undoing it and practically rips it out of his belt loops. He pulls down the zipper with deft fingers, less shaky than he was with the belt, when he tucks his thumbs into the waistband of Juice’s boxer s and jeans and shoves them down Juice’s thighs. 

Juice’s dick is hard, and bounces up obscenely against his stomach once his boxers are shoved down his thighs. Sverri leans in, takes a hold of Juice’s dick and sticks his tongue, revealing the tongue piercing that the others have only gotten a glimpse of, before he presses the piece of metal against the slit of Juice’s dick, before curling his tongue and sucking the head. Juice lets out a groan, tightening his fingers into his hair before pulling Sverri forward, shoving his cock straight down Sverri’s throat.

The blond gags before swallowing around the cock down his throat, a smile curling at the corner of his lips. Juice is murmuring down down at him, praises and moans as he starts rolling his hips, thrusting further into his mouth. Sverri throbs in his jeans, pushing his tongue out, flat against the underside of Juice’s dick. His eyes are watering slightly, as he lifts his eyes to look up at Juice. The face Juice makes when their eyes meet makes Sverri shudder and twitch in his jeans, his own cock is throbbing. Juice fucks his throat like he means it, his grip in his hair is tight but it’s not rough. Juice’s eyes aren’t volatile or wide like they usually are, they’re soft and dark with lust as Juice uses his throat, while Sverri lets him.

“Such a good boy.” Juice’s other hand clutches at the side of Sverri’s face. He rubs his thumb across Sverri’s jawline and slides his hand down to grip at his throat. His thrusts get more stilted, slightly rougher before he’s cumming inside Scerri’s mouth. The blond pulls his head away, the last streaks of cum splashing onto his face. He lets out a small chuckled and reaches down to palm at the bulge in his jeans. Juice yanks him to his feet, grinning at him.

“Fuck you’re pretty.” Juice murmures and smears the cum across his face with his thumb. Sverri shoves a hand down his own jeans, tugging at his dick while Juice gets absolutely filthy, pressing his mouth to the smear across his face and licking him. He moans, as Juice’s hand gets down into his jeans, replacing the hand on his dick. He teases and pulls on Sverri’s dick until the boy is a whimpering mess and creaming his jeans.

Juice pulls away and Sverri chases him, crashing his lips against Juice’s until both their lips are red and feel like they’ve been stung by bees. Even if the mess in his jeans is uncomfortable, kissing Juice isn’t. He’s both pliable and sweet under his hands but he’s also a wall, his chest is solid muscle as Sverri plants his hands on his chest. Juice allows himself to be crowded back in the direction of his bedroom, and then it’s a mad scrambled to get each others clothes off. Their kuttes are abandoned on the backs of the chairs of Juice’s dining table and their shirts are scattered across the floor, along with their jeans and boxers. Juice is, a dream. Sverri can’t help but run his hands all over him tweaking his nipples and exploring his frame. 

“Are you gay?” Juice’s voice is soft when he asks, out of the blue. Sverri pauses in his exploration of Juice’s body to meet his eyes. Sverri pulls Juice in close, his arms looping around his waist. He tucks his fingers under Juice’s chin.

“I’ve had a few things with a couple guys through school.” His words are soft, and they do something to relieve the tension in Juice’s shoulders. “I fancy you Juice, so if this is just, getting our rocks off. I can deal with that.” Juice lets out a shaky breath. “But if it’s something more, I’m okay with that too.” Juice’s eyes were half-lidded, dark. Sverri brushes the backs of his fingers against his cheeks, one arm still looped around his waist.

“Are you?” Sverri’s voice is just as soft. 

Juice hesitates, before his nod is barely noticeable. Sverri nuzzles his nose into Juice’s jaw. “I ain’t gonna tell no one Juice, you can trust me, I promise ya.” He says it softly, breath puffing against his skin. Juice relaxes against him, before he pulls him into his bed. Sverri can’t help his wandering hands, Juice is beautiful, smooth angles and muscle under skin. Juice pulls him up so that he’s laying on top of his chest. Sverri plants his hands into the bed, spreads his legs so he can settle himself, saddled on top of Juice’s hips. Their kisses are softer, they trade back and forth, something sweeter that’s tucked away from the rest of the world. Juice is gentle but he’s also more confident when no one is watching his every move. His hands are more confident, squeezing and touching like everything about Sverri is something he wants to keep. They don’t get long together, to trace the planes of each other backs and trade smiles.  Both their phones ring at the same time and Sverri rolls off of Juice to scramble across the room for his phone. He grabs the phone, flicks it open and answers before he grabs Juices. Juice answers his phone in the bathroom so that whoever’s calling can’t hear him talking to Happy. 

Juice throws him a new pair of jeans, black skinny jeans that he probably never wears because they look brand new. He forgoes his messy boxers, bundling them up with his jeans and throwing them into Juice’s laundry basket like he tells him to. Juice has a filthy grin and runs his tongue over the inside of his bottom lip when he notices. 

“You’re gonna cause a lot of trouble like that.” It’s said with a laugh, and Juice slaps his ass when he bends over to pick up his shirt. They slip on their kuttes and Jucie locks his door behind him. He pulls Sverri in for another, distracted kiss and then he rides bitch for Juice back to the clubhouse. Happy watches him concerned, but doesn’t say anything about the way he clutches onto Juice’s waist.

They’re on stake out duty for the rest of the night until morning. Sverri is saddled with Juice and Tig, watching a bar with neon shamrocks plastered on the outside. He’s got a sneaky hand on the armrest in between Tig and Juice seats, his fingers grazing the top of Juice’s thigh. The stake out turns up nothing and once it hits morning, Sverri has bags under his eyes and another itch under his skin. He doesn’t know if it’s an itch to have Juice, or to get into a fight but it bugs him nonetheless. He’s tired and can barely keep awake when they’re driving their way back to the clubhouse.

 

* * *

 

 

It’s Chibs who catches them first, it’s accidental, Sverri is officially patched, out of necessity for members, and they’re celebrating in their own way while the place is locked down. He doesn’t mean to distract Juice from the people outside, the possible pussy walking around or the rest of the brothers, but Juice is a masterpiece and Sverri is very weak. Chibs catches them propped up on one the sinks in the bathrooms. Sverri’s legs wrapped tightly around Juice’s waist as they’re rolling their hips up against each other, jeans shoved down their thighs. Sverri spots him first, panicked and he pushes Juice away, jerking his head back and slamming it against the mirror above the sink. It’s Juice who moves first, scrambles to get himself as far away from Sverri as possible when Chibs opens his mouth to speak.

“Jesus Christ lads do ye have tae do it here?” The Scot sounds pissed off, but before Juice or Sverri can say anything, he’s already continuing. “I don’t care what you lads are doin’ with each other but take it outside of here, not in our bathrooms.” 

“Brother please.” Juice’s plea is soft, but Chib’s gaze shuts him up quick. 

“I won’t tell no one, but you two, don’t let this shite get out. Club doesn’t need anymore trouble yer hear me.”  Sverri nods, a hand clutching the back of his head where it hit the mirror.

“We won’t let this out. Promise brother.” Chibs clicks his tongue and shakes his head before leaving with a call out for a full table in an hour. Juice turns to him, cradling the side of Sverri’s head gently before rubbing a hand over the spot. 

“Are you okay?” Juice’s voice is always soft with him, caring. Sverri smiles when he smooths his hair out of his face.

“Yea, yea I’m good Juicy.” 

They rejoin the party. Sverri’s hair is mused and he and Juice sit at the bar with drinks in hands. When it hits eight, Jax chases everyone out of the clubhouse and the whole place blows up and then all the calm that finally settled into Sverri’s bones had gone up in flames. 

Sverri doesn’t really like fire. Flames spook him, they catch him off guard and get him all jittery and antsy and sometimes downright crazy. When Juice touches his shoulder his flinch is so violent it throws Juice, and Happy who was hovering over the both of them back. Juice’s eyes are back to being wide and scared. He scrambles to his feet, eyes pleading with Juice to not ask. Juice shoots him a gentle smile, his entire expression changing into something lighter, and he pulls himself to his feet. 

Juice’s arm around him is a comfort. Everyone else eventually takes off, and Juice takes him back to his place. They stumble into Juice’s bathroom, tearing clothes off of each other and getting under scalding hot water, scrubbing the smell of smoke off their skin with Juice’s citrus body wash.

They ride out to Eden the next morning. Juice and Sverri rock up in line behind Tig and Happy, looking calmer than they were last night. The ride up is straightforward, would only take them a couple hours, they’d get there by early afternoon.

When Juice opens his mouth to one of the cops. Sverri inhales sharply and immediately moves to grab him. A hand on his shoulder stops him from moving, and Tig’s lookin at him like he shouldn’t move, shouldn’t antagonize the cops any further. When Juice gets punchy, Sverri’s skin starts to itch, that urge to fight is there. Happy’s already given in, pulling a gun away from an officer and pointing it at his head. Chibs moves to help Juice before he can, getting the cuffs off of him and manhandling him off and away from his bike. 

Sverri gets on his bike the minute they hear sirens, glancing over at Juice as he straps his helmet on. They’re riding fast, even with Juice lingering behind, jacking the cops by weaving in and out of each lanes. By the time they’d reached the Cabin, Sverri’s heart was fucking pounding in his chest. He was the first to grab Juice once he’s off his bike, pressing his face against his shoulder and breathing in the smell of oil and leather. 

“Fuck Juicy you’re gonna get your ass killed one day.” Juice clutches onto him just as tight, pulls him just that little bit closer before they both split apart.

“You boys best get inside.” Chibs is looking at them in a way that makes Sverri anxious. 

After the meeting, Sverri goes to catch up to Juice outside, seeing Jax with his arm around Juice. He holds   back for a second, eyes narrowed with worry when Chibs claps a hand on his back, surprising him. Sverri spins around, worried, his hands immediately raising to protect himself.

“Aye, chill lad. I ain’t gonna hurt ya.” The Scot squeezes the hand on his shoulder. “You keep an eye out for that boy, and fer yerself ye hear me?” Sverri flinches when Chibs leans in closer. “Your loyalty is to the club, and to your prez first. You’d do best to remember that.” 

Juice is leaning on his bike when Sverri finally gets away from Chibs. He straightens up, leans over to pull Sverri in between his legs, it’s a subtle move since no one’s looking at the two of them. The ride back will be long and Juice without his bike makes him feel antsy.

They’re going to get Juice’s bike. Sverri knows, knows if Juice sees his bike fucked up or if anything happened to it, he was gonna freak. His grip on Juice is firm, not firm enough for him to keep a hold on Juice when he takes a swing at one of the yard guys. When Juice picks out one of the new bikes, Sverri’s just the tiniest bit jealous, but the smug smirk on Juice’s face makes up for it, makes his blood burn and heat flare in his stomach. Juice’s confidence is a bit of a turn on.

They ride off to head back home. Juice is glancing over at him from his new bike as they rumble down the street and turn. His smile is intoxicating as he peeks out from underneath his helmet and Sverri can’t help the laugh that bubbles out of him as they speed off. When they’re back and settled, everyone is put into salvaging anything from the clubhouse to load up onto the trucks. Their new clubhouse is cozy, homely, the green walls make Sverri feel calmer, even with Juice’s presence behind him.

They know there’s still a lot to set up in the new clubhouse, but when Juice catches him and pulls him over to an empty room, Sverri can’t help but melt into his arms. This new Juice is something sweeter, better. Juice drops a kiss onto his forehead, before they pull apart.

“Thank you for backing me up sweetheart.” 

“Always love.” The term of endearment had quickly become his favourite to use for Juice. Juice always got a good, giddy look whenever he said it

Rane Quinn, Allesandro Montez and Orlin West were good men. Sverri was happy to vote them in, and even happier to clap his hands onto the table. 

“There’s one more name I wanna put on the table. RatBoy, it’s been almost a year since he put on a prospect patch and I think he’s shown us a lot, He’s smart, loyal and fearless, like a dog.” Sverri smiled, Rat was a good bloke and he was happy that the guy was getting patched in. “As his sponsor, I say he’s ready for a full patch. All in favour for making George Skogstrom a member of the Redwood Originals.”

“Yea.” Sverri raised his hand. When Tig yelled for Rat to get upstairs, Sverri tried to school his face like the others were trying to do, resorting to keep his head down when Rat came into the room, trying to hide his smile. Rat looked freaked out when he was told to cut off his prospect rocker, until Chibs laid down a full patch in front of him and the others burst out laughing.

Sverri did not like that Happy and Juice were sent up the coast with Connor. He was getting jumpy, antsy without Juice’s hand to calm him down. When they pulled up to the shop and Venus was sitting there, the lovely lady that he was introduced to a while back the floor fell out from under him. Seeing the lady cry was even worse, begging for the Prez’s help. The chase left his heart pounding, and when Barosky pulled an address, the itch under his skin to hurt someone was prominent as ever.

Alice’s words struck him deep. Sverri’s fingers tremble around his gun. His chest hurt from the words, feeling like the boy he was when he got caught with his first fling from high school. It was Chibs who noticed how still he was standing when Jax shot that bitch, his gun still hanging loosely from his fingers. 

“Hey lad.” Chibs voice was just as soothing as Juice’s would’ve been if he was there. The soft hand on his back makes him flinch, and Chibs steers him out of the room with a soft murmur to wait outside. He leans against the wall, trying to count his fingers, from one through ten, tapping the tips of his fingers against his palm. His chest was still tight, painfully tight, as he tried to breathe. 

He was still lightheaded and struggling to breath once everyone had actually gotten out of the suite. Happy mumbled something as he walked past, but he was too busy tapping his fingers to hear him. He stops counting when Chib’s hands come into view, grabbing his hands and shaking him. 

“Lad what’re ye doin?” He tries to lift his head, while still trying to keep count of his fingers. 

“Can’t breathe.” He barely gets the words out, doubling back over with his elbows pressing into his knees. His fingers still tap, keep on tapping and his counting goes from being in his head to outloud. “Juice.” The plea is barely formed but Chibs hears it well enough, tucks an arm around him and brings him over to his bike. Chibs counts slowly in his ear, quiet enough that the brothers didn’t hear him. 

“Yer gonna be fine lad. Just count with me, get your breath back. But you gotta hold on till Juicy-boy gets back okay.” He’s shaking, even as he sits on his bike. The others are already far gone from the lot by the time he catches his breath back and can bring himself to look up at Chibs, who looks more concerned than angry.

“They ain’t gonna know?” He has to ask, he needs to ask.

“They won’t unless you tell em lad. Will ya tell me what’si this all ‘bout.” Sverri’s hesitation isn’t lost on Chibs as he starts to talk, explain his anxiety and how certain things set him off pretty badly.

“And how does Juicy-boy help ye?” Sverri lets out a small noise.

“There’s just always a constant itch under my skin, Juice gets rid of it, I don’t know how.” He doesn't manage to say anything else. His hands still don't curl entirely around the handles of his bike because he's shaking so much. Chibs rubs a hand across his back, tries his best to soothe him.

 

* * *

 

 

It’s Sverri’s birthday, but he doesn’t tell anyone. Instead when he gets home to his apartment he’s shoving a candle in a cupcake and he’s just about to light it when there’s a knock on the door. His lighter goes abandoned on the table and he pulls the door open,to see Juice standing in the doorway.

“Hey Juicy.” His voice is soft. Juice is leaning against his door frame, peeking over his shoulder to spot the cupcake with a candle in it. “You celebrating something darlin’?” He crowds Sverri backwards, coming into the apartment. 

“Yea, just my birthday.” Sverri gives him a smile when Juice looks surprised.

“You celebrating all that on your own?” He closes the door behind him with his foot, before turning back to Sverri. “Should’ve told us, we could’ve had a party.” He jokes and pulls him in for a kiss.

“I think I’m okay, I’m not in the mood for a party.” Sverri laughs and slides his hands down his back, smoothing the leather of Juice’s kutte. “Besides, you’re here now aren’t you.” Juice gives him a smile that’s less nervous. 

“Of course sweetheart.” Juice’s hands are soft, gentle as they cup his face. He places a gentle kiss and then pulls away, sits himself down at his dinner table opposite the cupcake and grabs the lighter. He lights the candle and pushes the cupcake over towards the empty seat in front of him. “You gonna have the cupcake sweetheart?” 

The constant use of the nickname plasters a blush across his face as he takes a seat opposite Juice. He stares at the flickering frame in front of him and blows the candle out without a wish. He waits a few more seconds, before getting out of his chair and heading over to Juice. He drops himself into the Puerto Rican’s lap, the grunt Juice lets out makes him laugh.

The fact that Juice sought him out makes him calmer, the feel of Juice’s hands on his hips steadies him. Juice is the first to move once he’s comfortable, soothing his fingers against the crease of his hips. He drops his forehead down and grazes his lips against Juice, cups the back of his neck softly and thanks him.


	2. Chapter 2

Back at the ice cream shop, he’s buzzing next to Juice when Jax walks in. The news is okay, the Irish still make him worry and he doesn’t like the risky business but it’s more legit than running guns with the cartel. Juice drags him upstairs when Unser comes in asks Jax for alone time. They aren’t upstairs for long. A crash downstairs drags them back down the steps. Jax is out of the shop, Ratboy’s sweeping up some broken glass and one of the widows is shattered. Happy’s the first to chase off after him, sprinting down the street.

When they’re off to Putner’s house, Jax gestures for them to wait outside and he drops himself off the steps to stroll down to the gate. Jax doesn’t take long to talk to the girls dad, coming out looking just as down as he did when he went in. The girl blames them for her mother’s death, he confirms it. Sverri can’t help but feel bad for her, losing parents hurt.

The table is solemn, quiet when they take the vote. This whole Irish thing is antsy, makes him incredibly uncomfortable. Jax goes off to meet Patterson to make the deal, and Juice pulls him close when no one’s looking, slings an arm around his shoulder while they sit down in the shopfront and wait for Jax to come back.

The garage reopens and Jax is gone, to clear his head, spend some time away from the club. Sverri gets to working on the car that their first customer drops off. A pretty thing but it isn’t his type. He’s on the creeper, sliding himself back out from under the car when he hears Juice pattering around behind him. He grins up at Juice, who squats down and leans in with a kiss behind the car, hiding from any prying eyes. 

At Diosa Del Sur, Jax tells them that Tara’s planning to split and take the kids and his heart aches. Those kids are adorable, and he’s done a fair share of babysitting for those two gorgeous boys. When that issue is dealt with, or at least Jax’s says he’ll figure it out, Chibs turns their attention towards the Irish problem.

Nor-U-Veb gets his anxiety pumping and running off the deep end. Galen terrifies him as he’s hiding behind Happy, the bloody Irish are insane and he damn well knows it. He’s seen his pa tangle with the Irish and it’s what caused him to come down to Charming trying to escape this shite in the first place. The Irish are forcing their hand, making them run muscle for them to break Clay out of his transport. The news makes him sick, it’s a gross abuse of Galen’s power. He wonders if Galen recognizes him, sees his ma’s eyes in his own, sees the shape of his birth pa’s jaw in the set of his.

 

* * *

 

Their at Diosa Sel Sur when his age eventually comes up. It’s not his fault, but Juice mentions his birthday and Tig looks offended that they didn’t have an excuse to throw a party. When he turns down the party Chibs is the first to ask.

“Lad just how fuckin old are you? You're actin' like an old man.” 

“I’m twenty four, I was twenty two when I got my prospect patch.” Sverri admits and he can feel Juice’s bounding leg still against. The other brothers freeze, even Rat’s older than him, in his early thirties, he’s almost a decade and a bit younger than Juice. He knows it comes as a massive surprise and Juice buries his face in his hands. Chibs head is shaking and Tig’s face is filled with the shock. “What, didn’t y’all know how old I was? It was on my papers?” 

“Explains why those girls took a good liking to you.” Tig gestures to the girls that were crowded next to the bar, giggling and looking over at him. “Young enough for one of those girls to tie down.”

“Yea if I was interested in any of em.” Tig gets lead away by cute brunette and he’s just left with Juice next to him.

The girls seem to pick up the hesitance in the both of them, and leads them over to an empty room and leaves them both to their own devices. Juice’s face is, terrified as he takes Sverri in, the baby face behind the goatee, the lack of wrinkles on his face.

“Holy shit, you’re a kid.” Juice’s voice is louder than he means it to be and he covers his mouth with his hand. Sverri flinches when Juice moves, he doesn’t move to hit him but Sverri’s hands come up anyway to block his face. Juice’s voice softens, he pulls his hands down from his face, as he murmurs soft apologies. He presses a kiss to Sverri’s cheek, gentle and understanding.

“I thought y’all knew.” Sverri's voice is apologetic and he slides his hands up and down Juice's arms.

"You know I'm thirty-five right?" Juice says it like it means more than they connection they've made. Sverri hugs Juice close, drags them together and clutches him before pressing a kiss to Juice's lips.

"I don't care." His voice is firm. "I promise." 

 

* * *

 

 

Their arrival to the warehouse has him jittery again, now that Connor have gotten a good look of his face, he wonders if he looks a bit like his pa. He wonders of they can see his youth mirrored in his eyes. The fact that they put him with Tig and Bobby instead of Juice and Jax is clearly a move from Chibs. The Scotsman had given him a pat on the back when he’d moved to climb into the grey van, and redirected him over to the pink van. When TIg crashes the van into the truck he freaks out. Tig and Bobby have to drag him out the truck as his fingers go white around the handle of his gun. Bobby gets shot and Sverri panics, but he’s not allowed to freak out when Chibs grabs him by the hair and shouts instructions at him. 

He hears the gunshots before he can see what’s going on. He gets back into his kutte when the others come out of the room and Tara and Gemma show. Juice gets told to help Tara with Bobby and he stands there awkwardly, Bobby’s blood still on the gloves that Tig gave him. He balls them up, tucks them inside one another, before he pulls on his leather. 

He stands behind Juice almost uselessly when Chibs hands the gun over to Jax. He feels Juice flinch next to him when Jax shoots, and he flinches when more shots are fired and blood starts to spread out underneath Clay’s body. 

He’s antsy. Chibs is keeping him from Juice’s side. He knows his anxiety is at an all time high, he also knows that Chibs is well aware of how close he is to doubling over and having a panic attack. When they get told to move out, Chibs shoves him into the back of one of the cars and they head up to the cabin.

Juice spots his paler than normal face, and the tremble in his hands as Chibs walks him into the room. Chibs leaves him in the doorway to help Tara with Bobby, and Juice swoops in to pull him into his hold. His breathing is unsteady against the leather of Juice’s kutte. Bobby pulls through and he and Juice get tasked with watching Tara and making sure that Bobby’s alright. Chibs gives him and Juice their own room, and Juice tucks him into his side as he struggles to calm his shaking hands and chest. His age is so much more obvious to Juice when he’s shaking against his body like an injured baby bird. The next morning he’s smoking a joint while playing cards with Quinn and Rat, Juice sitting behind him on the couch, lost in his head. When Juice fucks off without telling him where he’s going he sits up but doesn’t follow.

He knows that he should probably talk to someone, to the club about how crippling his anxiety gets him, but he can’t help it. He sits with the brothers in the cabin, drinking as he listens to Tig describing how electricity feels on his balls when Bobby tells them that he sent Juice down to Diosa. The fact that Juice isn’t there wrenches at him, Juice disappearing without a word has him amped and the only thing that’s remotely soothing him is the alcohol that Tig is handing to him. 

Jax comes out and gets them up, motioning towards the door. Chibs claps a hand on his back which scares the absolute shite out of him. The noise that comes out from the back of his throat makes Chibs laugh at him.

“Juicy-boy will be fine lad, you just let him do his own thing.” The words do little to soothe him, do very little to stop the puke that threatens to come up. It lingers and burns in the back of his throat.

Back at the meeting with the Irish, he’s antsy when Connor stares at him for too long.Happy pulls him into a hug that almost squeezes the life out of him, it also almost makes the puke in the back of his throat come back up. Other than Juice and Chibs, Happy is the only other person that knows about his anxiety. He sees the obvious panic in his eyes. 

Sverri’s phone rings and he panics, fumbling with his phone to take the call. It’s Nero, his voice is angry and Sverri’s hands are shaking when he hears Nero mention Juice’s name. He can hear sobbing in the background. He drags his nails across his his forearm as he tries to get words out into the phone. Nero tells him to get over there, to get Juice. He takes one look at the others, at Happy before sprinting over to his bike, shouting something over to Happy. He’s sure he’s speeding by the time he makes it down to Diosa, by the time he gets through the doors he sees Lyla waiting for him.

“Where is he?” He pants, head whipping around the room.

“He’s in the back room. I can show you where they are.” She leads him back to the room, where Juice is curled up into a ball on the floor. He drops to his knees next to him, pulling Juice into his lap, cradling his head.

“Hey baby, Juice baby what’s wrong?” He knows he sounds terrified as he holds Juice’s head to his chest, already feeling tears starting to trickle down his cheeks. Nero helps him lift Juice, helps him carry him into the bed. Sverri gets sat in the bed, his back propped up against headboard as they arrange Juice against his chest. Juice’s face is tear streaked and he’s trembling in his hold, shaking against him. Nero lays a blanket over the both of them, smoothing it over Juice’s shoulder before he leaves, to deal with whatever issue Lyla calls him out for.

He cradles Juice for what feels like hours, smoothing the short hair of his faux hawk, murmuring a lullaby he barely remembers from his childhood with his ma. They get sent back up to the cabin, Sverri doesn’t know whether the others know that he bailed the Irish meet for Juice, but it doesn’t matter. Juice doesn’t tell him what happened or why he did it. 

Sverri can barely feel his hands anymore. He doesn’t say much. Tara going missing with Jac’s boys sets a sombre tone over the club, Juice’s apparent overdose ramps up his anxiety to the point where Happy has to slap his face to get him to focus. He’s stuck by Happy’s side feeding Tig’s pitbull when Juice and the others come back to the shop. Happy pulls him to his feet when Gemma motions towards Juice, a simple instruction to get out of the shop.

He glances back down to the steps, a frown twisted into his lips until he hears Gemma calls his name. He bounds down the stairs almost instantly, sliding to a stop at the base of the stairs. Gemma looks between him and Juice and he knows that she knows. 

“You don’t break this boy’s heart you hear me?” Gemma chastise at Juice makes him drop his head. “Nero told me he bailed on the meet with Marks and the Irish to come take care of you.” Sverri rolls his bottom lip through his teeth, when Juice lifts his head in surprise to meet his eyes. “Boy was practically bawling his eyes out when he saw you.” When Gemma jerks her head over to Juice, he steps closer to Juice, hesitant. It’s Juice’s call, whether he wants him or not. He holds his arms out, fingers outstretched. Before he can take them the bell on the door jingles and Jax walks in. THeir attentions turn and Sverri can’t help the panic that jumps at his throat. He backs up when he spots Sheriff Roosevelt and the District Attorney walking up to the shop through the glass. When the DA asks to speak to Jax alone, Juice’s hand on his back ugers him up the stairs behind Chib’s back.

Juice drags him into another room before the others can ask. Juice can see that he’s skittish, just as skittish as he used to be. Sverri lets out a shaky breath when he steps closer and he pauses, worried.

“Are we doing okay? Juicy?” Sverri’s voice is weak, barely getting the words out. He hates to admit it to himself but he’s scared, scared out of his mind because he just had to witness Juice shaking and terrified in his arms but now Juice won’t even talk to him. “Was it, something to do with us?” 

“There’s nothing wrong with us sweetheart.” Juice’s voice is just as quiet. “It was just something I couldn’t deal with. I promise, you and me we’re okay” 

“You got me baby, I can help can’t I?” Sverri doesn’t move from where he’s leaning his back on the door. Juice steps forward, pulling Sverri into his arms. He presses his forehead against the leather of Juice’s kutte, finally crying against him. He feels tired, out of energy and as much as he’s mad at Juice for doing something stupid, he loves the guy too damn much to care.

He doesn’t end up sitting next to Juice at the table, Happy drags his anxious and red-rimmed eyed, ass into the seat next to him and slings an arm around his shoulder, squeezing him affectionately before patting his thigh.

Bobby, him and Juice are sent to tail Tara’s lawyer while the others handle business with the Niners, Mayans and Nero’s crew. He sits in the back of the truck, turning his gun over and over in his hands. He knows he’s probably a liability, an anxious, messed up kid that’s finally realized he’s caught up in more than he can handle, but he doesn’t wanna leave Juice’s side. 

When Juice takes Thomas’ from Jax’s arm, he can’t help the smile across his face, a brief moment where he can pretend that they’re just looking after a kid and not guarding them while Jax talks to Tara. They flank the horse that Juice sets Thomas down as Juice coos at the baby. Thomas is a gorgeous kid, Sverri can see it. He coos and gurgles as he rocks back and forth on the horse. Sverri crouches next to it, a gentle hand on the kid’s back. 

Seeing Juice with a kid makes Sverri calmer. Juice is a natural, handles Thomas like he’s used to it, used to babysitting and cooing down at kids. A slight flash of want runs through his chest, the idea of maybe him and Juice having a family crosses his mind for a second.

He’s sitting with Juice in one of the booths when Unser comes in. Juice gets up first, volunteers himself and Sverri’s up next to him, offering some back up like it’s not obvious he’s not leaving Juice’s side. He can see Juice’s body stiffen when Jax hugs him, and he doesn’t turn around when Sverri makes an inquisitive noise. He follows him over to the bikes, rides next to him and does his best to keep his eyes on both Juice and the road. 

When he and Juice get there, Roosevelt’s out front and there’s a commotion coming from inside the house that has him pulling his gun. They both rush inside behind Roosevelt, their guns drawn when they hear a choked sobbing. They see blood, red everywhere. Tara is sprawled on the ground, _dead_ and Gemma is backed into the corner on the floor. Before Roosevelt can call it in, Juice is shooting him and scaring the shit out of him and making him flinch. His knuckles are white around the grip of his gun.

“Juicy what’re you doing?” Sverri’s pacing back and forth as Juice holds out his hand for Gemma to take. He doesn’t know what to do, torn between the tattoo and family that’s across his forearm and the loyalty that he has to Juice. He’s picking at his nails as Gemma shakes against Juice’s shoulder. It isn’t the first time that Sverri is at a loss, but Juice meets his eyes once he steadies Gemma. He knows what he’s going to be forced to do. He needs to choose between the club and saving Juice.

When it gets dark, he and Juice carry the shit they need to get rid off. He’s clutching onto one of Juice’s gloved hands as they throw everything into dumpsters. Their hoods are pulled over their heads and Sverri has a bandana wrapped around his face. Juice talks about him wearing his crow sometimes, when he’s sleep deprived. Sverri thinks a lot about it too. He’s Juice’s for the rest of his life, would do anything to save him from the Men of Mayhem.

He knows he can get Juice out of Charming. With all the shit that went down, no one ever looked into it but there’s a reason his name isn’t anything remotely Irish nor does his voice have the same lit and accent that all the Irishmen have. 

It’s his real pa’s fault. He fell in love with some girl in South Armagh and then nine months later, baby Sverri is born. At fourteen he’s sent down to San Fran to live with one of his pa’s friends, South Armagh isn’t safe anymore. So Sverri O’Riain became Sverri Luis Cortez, and that part of his life, was over. 

Juice is wide eyed when he hears about it. Gemma redirects them to Wendy’s place while he makes a few calls to San Fran to get his ma’s number in South Armagh. His ma agrees to send him money from the trust fund she set up for him when he was born, transfers it into a side account that he’s kept to himself. He goes out of town to buy groceries, drives out for about an hour before he comes back to Wendy on the the kitchen table asking Juice to get out. Wendy spins around to look at him when he closes the door behind him. He hates the look in Juice’s eyes.

“Look we’re sorry, We can find another place. Can we at least wait till it’s dark before we leave?” Sverri hates how broken Juice looks when he pleads. He scratches his fingers through the prickly stubble of Juice’s hair growing out, places the groceries on the table before clutching him tight. His fingers shake slightly as he traces them down the side of Juice’s face. Once the door closes behind Wendy’s back, he’s dropping himself into Juice’s lap and caressing the side of his face with the backs of his fingers

“I can get us out baby.” He murmurs to Juice, tucks his fingers under Juice’s jaw to tilt his face up to meet his. “My ma’s set me up with some cash, I can fly us out to San Fra and then even up to South Armagh, get us safe, get us away from SAMCRO. They’ll never find us.”

He’s cuddling Juice on the couch, stroke the side of his head when Gemma bursts into the house. He keeps his mouth shut until Gemma offers to get them both money and it’s when he speaks up.

“I have money to get us out.” His voice is soft but Gemma and Juice can both hear him. “My ma’s in South Armagh, sent me about ten grand for Juicy and I to make it down to San Fran. And then maybe we can catch another flight to South Armagh, I’ll cash in debts, get Juicy and I out safe.”  Gemma’s face when he mentions Ireland is one of ire and confusion. His hand is firm on Juice’s shoulder, they have to get out. He won’t lose Juice to anyone. Not now.

“I can cover for the both of you, you two keep it for a few more days. I’ll find you a safe flight out of Charming.” Gemma hugs the both of them, pulls them in close and kisses the side of their heads.

“Thank you mom.” His voice is quiet but it carries all the appreciation he has in his heart for her helping them both. She leaves them both on the couch. Juice leans into him, his shoulders shaking and Sverri wraps his arms around him, pulls him back into his hold, soothing his fingers across his back. He’s holding onto Juice with a gentle but firm hand. He rearranges them on the couch, kisses the top of his head and holds him close. 

When Wendy comes back, she’s carrying another bag of groceries, fresh fruit and all the stuff that Sverri forgot to get while he was out. Important shit that would’ve been more useful than the canned shite he’d been getting. Juice has the entire fridge and cupboard organized by size and colour, just as neat as his own apartment was.

Unser scares the shite out of him when he walks out of the bathroom with his shirt slung over his shoulder. Juice already has his gun out, pointing it to the back of Unser’s head. 

“Get up.” His voice is firm, and Sverri can tell he’s scared. He swallows down the ball in his throat, pulls Juice back away from Unser with a hand on his shoulder. Juice is still holding the gun out,. Sverri gets him to put the gun down, before dragging Unser into the bathroom and tying him up. He saves Juice the trouble, the kiss he presses to Juice’s hair doesn’t go unnoticed by Unser. Juice can barely sleep that night, Sverri hugs him close, kisses his hair over and over and promises a way out, promises to help him. He tucks Juice’s back against his chest and wraps an arm around Juice’s front, smoothing a thumb over his tattoo.

The next morning Juice cuts Unser loose, and Sverri sits at the kitchen table with his gun in front of him.

“How’d you know I was here.”

“I didn’t, found yours and the kid’s backpack in the closet. It seemed out of place.” 

Sverri drops a hand on Juice’s shoulder when Unser doesn’t leave, urges him to get the hell out of dodge.

“You got a plan to get out of Charming?”

“What do you care?” Sverri hates the way Juice curls in on himself.

“We-” Juice starts.

“We don’t.” Sverri cuts in before Juice can say anything else. He smooths his hands over Juice’s shoulder, runs it down his bicep before he stands. He kisses the top of Juice’s head and heads into the bathroom to splash water on his face. He can hear Unser asking questions about him, about the both of them. The water clears his head for a moment. So far there’s no word that the Sons are out looking for them. The silence is what pushes him to pull his phone out of his pocket, and he’s dialling the international number to South Armagh and asking his ma to help book him and Juicy flights out of Charming.

His ma promises she’ll try and arrange something for him, she still has a lot of pull in Armagh, and Sverri gets woken up by Juice’s yell. He creeps out of the bedroom to see Gemma handing a bunce of cash and a scrap of paper. He’s sitting in the passenger seat when Juice pulls out the burner. He can hear Chib’s voice from the tinny speaker of the phone. He snatches it out of his hand and snaps it shut before he shoots Juice a look.

He’s in charge of taking care of their shit. He packs and repacks their bags like it could change their situation. Stuffs the bags under Wendy’s bed and out of sight. Juice picks up their kuttes from the couch and hands his over. The leather leaves a weight on his shoulders, something he doesn’t know if he can still carry when Unser knocks on the door. The diner is uncharacteristically busy, Juice is hidden around a corner while Unser’s waiting at a table for Chibs. He’s a few tables away, hat covering his head and sunglasses covering half his face. He can’t see Chib’s face but the desperation from Juice’s face makes his fingers tap. Something in Juice’s face cracks when Chibs leans forward. Sverri’s the first to move, coming up behind Chibs.

“You follow me I’ll open a round in your tires. I’m sorry brother, I never meant to hurt the club. It’s the only family I have. I love you.” Sverri follows him out and shoots a glance back at Chibs. Chibs doesn’t look surprised to see him with Juice. The Scotsman is glaring at the both of them as they pull out of the parking lot. 

Everything goes to shit when Juice disappears in the middle of the night. Sverri finds him with the Mayans, after spending two nights without sleep searching for him. He hears what Juice offers, hears the deal he tries to cut with Alvarez and knows he can’t interfere, physically can’t get Juice out of the mess.     When Jax shows up, his brothers show up. Sverri knows he needs to make one last play to get Juice out alive. He stays out of sight, when they take Juice away, follow them up to the highway where J.T’s death haunts his son. He flicks the engine off his bike and rolls in just behind them, out of sight, he can barely see enough to know that Juice is the only one to get on his bike. He takes off after Juice after he counts to a minute, the roar of his bikes engine shocks his brothers, he has his hood and bandanna over his face, knows that they won’t recognize him with his kutte under his hoodie. He catches up to Juice with his own gun pulled, taking out two of the Highway Patrol that raise their guns to him.

It’s clear Juice doesn’t expect him there. He yells to him over the wind whipping into their faces. Juice slows to a stop in front of the Patrol blockade and Sverri makes his moves, takes one shot at the man standing centre of the blockade and splatters his brains onto the tarmac.

Juice surrenders first, as the patrolmen rip his hood and bandanna from his face. His chin is held high and mighty. There’s no place for his fears when he stares Jax Teller down when Juice gets wrestled from his bike. He knows Chibs is the only one who isn’t surprised to see him. Isn’t surprised to see him defending Juice so vehemently that he’d be thrown in jail alongside him. 

It’s Sverri’s choice, and it’s a choice he will never regret.


	3. Chapter 3

Sverri absolutely abhors Ron Tully, with every fibre of his being. They thrown into a cell together, but Sverri gets a beating from the guards as they spit warnings, growling for throwing a wrench in their plans. Ron Tully treats Juice like a prize, like Juice belongs to him. His arms are wrenched behind his back as he watches them touch and… and he can barely think the word. Tully speaks to Juice like Sverri isn’t even there. Tully promises Juice things that leaves Sverri feeling the crashing waves of a storming sea inside him.

What pisses him off so much is that Tully treats Juice like he loves Juice. He has to listen to Tully read Juice poetry in their cell at night. He gets held with his arms behind his back as Juice's cheek is stroked by Tully's hands. It's cracking at his insides, to see Tully treat Juice so sweetly. He knows what Tully is doing to Juice, manipulating him, creating positive emotional response to their situation. He knows he can't hurt Tully and it's killing him inside. It breaks him.

He knows why Juice is in, why Jax sets him up. He knows the Chinese are still a problem and he knows that Jax gave the green light to Tully to hurt Juice as much as he wanted. When Juice is allowed to interact with others, Sverri is joined at his hip. His usual smile is twisted into something gnarled and ugly, hatred spewing from his lips when anyone comes too close to Juice. The only people he can’t protect Juice from is Tully and it hardens him. It forces him to squash every bit of anxiety in his chest. Forces him to become crueler and meaner.

He’s only ever sweet and gentle with Juice, the men in the prison can see it, the guards on Tully’s payroll can see it. He gives his extra slices of pie to Juice, when Juice is looking a little thirstier or hungrier he hands over his tray. His glares paired with Tully's protection are enough to warn anyone off Juice, to stop anyone from trying to pick on him. He gets a visit from Jax, one that takes him by surprise. He knows that Jax can see he’s different, can see how he doesn’t flinch when the door shuts and he sits down in front of him.

Sverri stares him down, just stares. He doesn’t move, he barely twitches. Watching Juice suffer drags his old ticks and tells from just under the surface of his skin, deep into the depths of his heart, barricaded behind how much he needs to protect Juice. Jax talks to him, talks and talks about loyalty and the club and revenge and retribution, but the expression on his face is blank, meaningless. All that actually held meaning to him was Juice. Jax warns him to stop interfering, warns him that his loyalty will Juice will get Juice hurt.

He knows when Juice kills Lin. Sverri wakes up to an empty cell and waits patiently. Juice comes back to their cell with clean clothes and not a single speck of blood on him, but there’s a look in his eyes. Sverri knows it. The look is fear, relief and it makes Sverri’s facade crack when he recognizes that now that they’re inside, his Juice has given up.

He fights the guards when they take Juice to the infirmary, he gets a busted eyebrow and a dislocated nose, a couple of bruised ribs and his arm gets twisted around his back. He goes overnight sitting with his back to the wall facing the door, he picks at his nails until they bleed, scratches his arms until they’re red and raw.

When he gets Juice back, he’s boiling with rage and unchecked aggression. Foreign aggression. He knows how he looks, he knows he looks like he’s a psychopath and even Juice flinches when he spots his face. He knows he softens when Juice does that, the rage bleeds from his skin. The skin on his fingertips is tight as he barely grazes them over the butterfly bandages on Juice’s brow.

Juice relaxes into him, barely. Sverri has to hold him up, props him up and lays with his back to Juice’s chest and Juice’s back to the wall. It soothes Juice, gets him to relax against him. He drops his aggression and dominance plays when it comes to Juice, knows that it makes him so much more approachable to Juice when he isn’t trying to be a macho man to protect him. It’s Juice who clutches at his chest, holds him, cradles him. It gives Juice something to do. It gives Juice a way to make him feel like he’s alright.

When they’re released into gen pop he knows it’s time, knows that he’s got one chance to save Juice’s life. Juice hands the scalpel over to Tully, his hand is shaking on his thigh. The facade on his face remains but inside he’s screaming, begging Juice to keep the scalpel and destroy Tully.

It’s his hand that ultimately saves Juice. His hand and the speed he’d wrestled the scalpel out of Tully’s hand and shoved it into his throat, before he drops to his knees begging Juice not to bleed out and die on him. The doctors tell him, if it wasn’t for his hand, the scalpel would’ve messed him up deeper, would’ve actually killed him. His hand is jacked up, the scalpel, with the force of Tully’s hand goes through his nerves and causes some serious damage.

The DA that cuts him a deal when both he and Juice are dragged to the infirmary, is on his ma’s payroll. They draw up a plan that gets him and Juice, far away from the Sons and away from Charming. He does time the next six months of his life for the murder of the patrolmen, in those six months he goes to PT for his hand, works on getting himself stronger so he can take care of Juice. He drops ten grand of his trust fund onto the lawyers his ma sends him for Juice's treatment, for saving the love of his life. They release fake images of their bodies to Charming P.D. and to the rest of the world, Sverri Luis Cortez and Juan Carlos Ortiz, are dead.

Six months is done and Sverri, through intensive therapy, can curl his fingers around what he pretends is the handle of his bike, his baby that he left in San Fransisco when he first moved to Charming, a sleek deep red Dyna that his pa helps him build when he’s twelve as their bonding activity. He dreams of her, of him and Juice. It’s all he ever dreams of, riding with Juice and them being free.

They get released, Juice is jittery about the outside world, but the way his arm slings around him is comfortable an easy. His ma arranges for a casual armed escort to their flight. It’s only a fifty minute flight but Juice is terrified. His fingers grip the seat of the chair and once the seatbelt sign clicks off Sverri pulls the arm rest between them up and out of the way and he reaches between their thighs, tucking his fingers against Juice’s, gripping his hand. When they touchdown and get through immigration. The man who raised him is standing outside the arrivals terminal waiting for them. 

“Pa.” He’s hugging the man before he even knows what he’s doing, clinging to him with a heartfelt sob as his pa clutches him just as tight. Juice stands awkwardly behind him, when his pa holds his hand and rubs his thumb over the ugly scar thhat mars the back of his hand.

Sverri introduces Juice to Julio Sanchez Cortez, the guy who gave him his last name, the man who raised him and taught him everything he needed. The taller man hugs the both of them, looks at Juice and welcomes him with an incredibly wide smile on his face, before he’s clapping Sverri’s back and reminds him to call his ma for things other than emergencies, before he pats the hood of his car and gestures the both of them inside. They drive out for 40 minutes or so, back to Sverri’s old apartment where he and Julio used to live. The idle chatter in the car calms him and it seems to settle Juice.

Sverri’s old apartment is slightly dusty but it looks clean, like it’s been taken care of while he was gone. He grins when he walks through the living room, pushes open the door to his bedroom to see it’s just like he left it. Julio and Juice are still in the lounge when he hides their bags away underneath his bed. He comes out to see Julio hugging Juice and patting his back. Julio tosses him a set of keys, and he recognizes them as the keys to his garage and his car. Julio invites them both down to the garage he owns, reminds him his Dyna is still there and she needs his love. The mention of his Dyna has Juice perking up. He knows Juice wants to take a look at his girl.

Once Julio is gone, he pulls Juice into his arms. He’s less jittery and skittish, as Sverri runs a hand down the side of his arm. 

“Hey I’ll take you down to the garage tomorrow, get you hooked up with a job. My pa ain’t so bad baby.” He feels better, safer now they’re out of Charming. “And after that, we’re both gonna be safe for a long long time baby.” Sverri’s voice is firm when he tucks his face into Juice’s throat, affectionately pressing a kiss to his jaw. “We’ll be fine Juicy baby I promise.” He soothes Juice’s shaking shoulders as he clings to him. 

Sverri will do his best to keep that promise.


	4. Chapter 4

The next five years of their lives are stable. They live about 40 minutes away from the city in a smaller town outside the of San Francisco. San Joan isn’t a quiet town by far, but it’s far from the shitstorm that is Charming. Sverri gets both him and Juice into therapy, Juice takes pills to manage the dissociative disorder and OCD he has, Sverri has a multitude of pills for his anxiety and the both of them have to talk about the shit Jax put them through, but they both manage. Their kuttes are on hangers in their shared closet, behind the fifty or so jackets that Sverri buys to bury them behind. The burner phone that Juice keeps calling Chibs with sits in a box under their bed. It’s never dust covered, Juice takes it out and looks at Chibs’ number constantly but Sverri doesn’t stop him, lets him do what he wants because he knows how much Chibs means to him. He gets himself into school, a quick two year course that gets him a diploma that gets him some easy work to keep him afloat while he starts back up paying the rent for his apartment. They’re safe and stable and Juice stops flinching whenever he hears bikes go past or gunshots echoing through the neighbourhood.

Their relationship is something that sits in his mind, it’s a constant reminder. Juice starts out as his brother, by the leather they wear, something precious and important and means everything to him. Then he falls in love and the words mean so much more than just bound by leather,  _ mi carnal  _ he says to people. and there’s obvious love in his voice and eyes when they ask, because he and Juice are more than just what he started as, half the time he can’t figure out where Juice ends and he begins.

His three brothers, Armando, Logan and Marcello take Juice and him out to play pool and relax. He and Juice do normal things, go out on dates, hold each other's hands in public, cute, normal shite that makes Sverri blush and Juice look like he's younger and doing better.

Sverri is twenty-nine when he and Juice run into familiar bikes and leather. He’s pulling into the garage to drop Juice off for his shift on his day off when he spots them. Chibs and Tig are standing with Julio, from what Sverri can see, one of the bikes is almost totaled. Sverri’s the first out of the car.

“Stay here.” He pats the hood of his car and his jaw is set when Juice slinks down in his seat. He reaches inside his hoodie, hand on on the gun in his shoulder holster as he walks up to them. 

“Julio.” He calls out and his voices gets both Chibs and Tig’s attention. “We have a problem here?” The hand that’s resting on the grip of his gun doesn’t go unnoticed by either of them, or Julio.

“The fuck?” It’s Tig who talks first. He leans across to look over towards his car.

“Fancy seeing you here boys.” He tucks the thumb of his free hand into his pocket, shifting to block Tig’s view. The confidence in his voice is reminiscent of the facade he wore in County, from his posture, to his voice, to the glint in his eyes. “No offence Julio, I think these boys should take their business elsewhere.” His voice is stern, firmer as he stares Tig and Chibs down. Even with all of that, his pa can still hear the fear laced into his voice in his voice. It’s Julio that moves, that pushes his way between the two of them and stands between him and Chibs and Tig. 

“Sorry  _ ese _ , If you’ve got history with my boy then we might have a problem.” Julio’ voice is more firm than his own, pulls Chibs and TIg’s attention. 

“Is that Juice?” Chibs is eyeing the car. Sverri pulls his gun, turning it in his hands before pointing it at Chibs like it isn’t the biggest mistake of his life. “I thought ye both yer dead.”

“He’s under my protection.” Sverri practically snarls his words.

“And that defaults to my protection  _ mano _ . _ ” _ His pa has a hand on his shoulder, a comforting weight that pulls him out of the mask he wears. Sverri backs up towards the car when Julio murmurs into his ear, asking him to get Juice into the garage, where he’s safer. He ducks his head into the window to jerk his head towards the garage.

“Come on Juicy baby, I won’t let em hurt you.” He smiles when Juice can finally meet his eyes. He waits for Juice as he gathers his stuff, makes sure his phone is shoved into his back pocket before he slides out of the passenger seat. His hoodie is zipped up all the way, the hood itself bunched around his throat, hiding the gnarled scar on his neck. He walks side by side with Juice as they walk up towards the garage. His gun is still in his hand, when Juice walks past Chibs and TIg and he sets himself between the both of them. 

“You tell Jax you saw either of us here and I put a bullet through both your brains.” The fact that he growls the threat catches the both of them off guard, his eyes glance at the patches on their kuttes. The president patch on Chibs’ kutte is new. He peeks over Chibs’ shoulder to see Juice watching them from behind one of the bikes he’d been working on the past few days. 

“Look, we’re not here for Juice, lad. Tig and I came down for business, club business when someone ran him off the road.” Chibs’ voice is calm as he takes in the expression on Sverri’s face. “We aren’t here for either of you. We didn’t even know you boys were here, what's left of the club thinks  _ yer dead _ .” Chibs had always been the voice of reason, even when the club was troubled and falling apart.

“Sverri  _ mijo _ . Can you deal with their bike and get them moving?” His pa interrupts. The endearment isn’t lost on either Chibs or Tig when he feels Julio ruffle his hair, the same move he used to do when Sverri was young and angry and cursing his real pa’s death.

“Tig’s bike is practically wrecked pa, it’d take at least a week if I’m workin’ on all my days off.” The stern look on Julio’ face has him sighing and putting his gun away. “I’ll take this week off work, get that bike done in three days if I work on it well past closin’.” He crosses his arms, nodding over to Juice. “But they’re not allowed near him yea, pa? I don’t want them near him.” When Julio nods, he splits, runs a hand over Juice’s shoulder as he makes his way into the office to ring up his boss, asks for a week off, mentions the club coming to San Fran as the reason he needs it and his boss immediately relents and gives it to him. When the call ends, he’s staring at the phone in his hand and can feel the his chest starting to ache with the same anxiety from back when he was in Charming.

He scrambles into his pocket for his pills, takes one dry before trying to get his head screwed back on. He slips out of the office, heads over to Juice and pulls him into his arms as Julio starts to wheel in the wreckage that is Tig’s bike. He smooths his hands down the side of Juice’s biceps, while Juice pulls him between his legs. 

He knows Chibs and Tig are watching them, the look on Juice’s face tells him as much. He ducks his head in front of his, blocks Juice’s face from their view. “Hey baby, I’ll be here for the entire shift okay, rest of the week, I’m gonna take care of TIg’s bike so you don’t have to.” 

“Work’s letting you off?” Juice sounds worried, like they’re not gonna have enough to cover the bills or to buy groceries for the next week.

“Yeah, and hey, don’t worry, ma sent me enough from my trust fund to keep us going for at least another three months. Then I can work overtime alright, pick up the slack.” Juice’s arms tighten around his waist, pulling him further between his legs as he leans against his workbench. “Now lemme get my hands on Tig’s bike and check out what I need to do to get it done okay?” Juice kisses him like he misses him, soft and sweet. He pulls away and turns to face the wreckage that’s Tig’s bike. 

Sverri doesn’t say much to Chibs and Tig while he’s dismantling the wreckage, trying to figure out which parts of the bike are salvageable and which parts aren’t. Most of it isn’t bad, just knocked and bent out of shape. He’ll have to scrap some main parts, ditch the rims and the handlebars, replace the lights. He tells Chibs and Tig just as much, keeps it straight forward and to the point, doesn’t let them get a word in edgewise. Tig eyes the tattoos on his fingers, reminiscent of crow feathers run along his fingers and they stem from his scar. He never works with gloves, uses the risk as an escape as he usually ends up searing his fingertips with hot metal. The back of his hand and fingers are marked with his devotion to Juice, his love for Juice. It will never be a burden to him, he knows that.

Whenever their conversation strays from the topic of Tig’s bike he gets tightlipped. His glare gets more pronounced and he clenches his jaw in a way that thankfully makes Tig stop prying. When he needs a break he tells them to wait with the bike, unless they need to be somewhere. He goes and bugs Juice, kisses the side of his head next to his hawk that’s grown out, pretends that they aren't being watched as he soothes the stress from Juices shoulders while he's working. At around ten, he sends one of the boys from the office out to get coffee from around the corner, slides his ass onto a creeper and ducks under the suspended bike that Juice is working on to check out how he's going.

Chibs and Tig can't help but notice how relaxed the two of them are. Sverri and Juice. The blond moves around Juice in such a relaxed and fluid motion that reads so smoothly it’s almost like a movie. Juice doesn't flinch under his hands either. The both of them are confident and sure in themselves, far from the shaky barely legal boy and the skittish fucked up mess that Sverri and Juice were. Tig nudges Chibs shoulder when Sverri presses a kiss to the top of Juices head openly. The sound of Juice’s laugh is reminiscent of the times the boy was all smiles around his brothers, always telling jokes around cracking his brothers up.

Chibs flinches, out of the openness in Juices face. The fact that the boy can barely glance in their direction, that Sverri doesn't  _ let _ him, reminds him that there's a lot of unfinished business between the both of them. He wants to be respectful, wants to not disturb the peace that Sverri and Juice have managed to find, but he also wants to reach out and clear up the air between them. 

Tig is the one that notices the boy comes back with one too many coffees. After Sverri hands Juice his drink, he balances the cardboard tray while sipping his own drink. Juice pats Sverri’s thigh and gets stuck back into work. The blond makes his way back and holds out the cardboard tray of coffee. 

“Thank ye lad.” Chibs’ eyes drop to the coffee and reads the scrawl on the side of the cup. Their regular orders are scrawled on the side in blue marker. It brings a smile to his face, that Sverri remembers how they like their coffees. Tig lets out a grateful groan as he takes a sip. When Chibs takes the coffee from the tray the boy throws it in the general direction of the trashcan next to them.

Sverri drops back down onto the stool with little wheels that he’d using to scoot around Tig’s bike, his drink in one hand as he surveys the damage properly. 

“I’m guessing she didn’t go under. That would have been horrible.” His voice is softer, slightly fonder as he runs his hand over the wrecked headlight. He knows now, after countless therapy sessions he was never mad at the club, just at Jax, at men like Tully and the Chinese. “Don't know how lucky either of you could've been.” He traces his finger along the metal of the light casing and sighs.

“Can you fix her?” Tig sounds worried about his bike and Sverri expects as much.

“I can get fully started once I get the parts, but they probably won't be in until after our lunch break, that's when delivery is.” He glances over the clock and his face does everything to betray what he's thinking. “If y’all have club business to get to, I might have a bike that Tig can use.” He doesn't know what he's doing. Maybe he's trying to make up for hiding from them.

“Why would you help us get club business done?” 

Sverri glances over at Juice, who's working on a bike without a second glance at them. “So Juice isn't panicking about whether or not you're gonna put two bullets in the back of his head when my back is turned.” The words are harsh but the look on Sverri’s face isn't. He motions over to the other side of the garage, pulling away a tarp to reveal his Dyna, the beauty of a bike that he can barely bring himself to ride because he’s worried his hand will give out and he doesn’t want the risk of leaving Juice alone. 

“You can take her, just bring her back in one piece or you won't be.” The threat slips out almost as casually as the way Sverri is standing in front of the bike. 

“What’s a gorgeous baby doing hidden under a tarp?” Tig smoothes a hand over her handlebars and Sverri’s sigh is wistful. He turns his left hand over, his scar in plain view.

“I don’t dare to ride her with my hand fucked up. Nerve damage.” They’re both quiet when he smooths his right hand over the scar. “It’s the only reason he didn’t die.” He doesn’t know why he feels he needs to explain. They don’t need to ask who he’s talking about. 

As Tig starts wheeling out his girl he steps in front of the both of them, his fingers tucking into the pockets of his jeans. “Your bike would get done faster if Juice is working on it, if it wasn't for the fact that he's terrified of you, my pa would've made him done it.” He nods towards Chibs with a frown. “He's the best thing I've got, and I'd kill for him, you understand that?”

There is a buzz that’s under the surface of his skin that doesn't go unnoticed by either Chibs or Tig. He notices the look they give each other before they nod. 

“Alright I'll stop being the overprotective boyfriend now.” The chuckle he gives betrays that, a little darker and more unhinged than Chibs and TIgs are used to from him. He steps aside, back towards Tig’s bike, and let's them roll his baby out towards Chibs bike. 

Juice lifts his head as they ride off. He looks like he wants to ask, but doesn't, he tilts his head like a puppy, one of the things that endears him even more to Sverri and gets back to work on his bike. Sverri rubs a hand over his face before he gets stuck back into Tig’s bike. He really can't do much until the new parts get in. The sigh that leaves his mouth as he drops his head into his hands is deeper, a little more painful. He can already feel the delicate balance that they'd managed to create tipping. Whatever the business that brought the Sons over to San Joan, he wasn't going to let Juice get caught up in it again. 

He can’t help but think about them sometimes, even with his family out here, the Sons were an anchor, a rock for him sometimes. If there's anyone from the Sons that Sverri misses the most it's Happy fucking Lowman. His sponsor wasn't really the most sane of people but god be damned if he wasn't what Sverri needed right now. If there was anyone who could have slapped Sverri into shape it would’ve been Happy. His phone is a weight in his pocket. He knows most of Happy’s burner numbers off by heart, knows that he should call and ask, make sure that Chibs and Tig aren’t the only ones who can see through the curtains they tried to pull on the sons eyes. The shine of the sun onto Tig’s bike is what pushes him to get his phone out, he dials the number of Happys usual prepay, waits as the phone rings. Happy's voice isn't exactly what he expects, he expects the phone to ring out, it's been four years was honestly expecting the number to be disconnected.

“Hap…” His voice is already strained and he's only said a word. The silence on the other side of the line is deafening. It takes a minute, but then he hears cursing, shuffling over the line, rustling like the phone is being shoved into a pocket, and then two minutes later Happy's voice comes back through the tinny speaker.

“Sverri? Is that you?” He can't get a read on Happy’s voice but the noise of confirmation he makes over the line gets Happy launching into a ramble, asking if he's okay. 

“Are they coming for Juice?” It's the first words out of his mouth, concerned and desperate. 

“What?” Happy truly is a man of few words.

“Do they know, was there a Mayhem vote?.” He knows he already sounds panicked and that Happy can hear it.

“Mayhem? What no? Fuck Juice is dead! You’re supposed to be? Where are you calling from boy?” His heart stops for a second and before he can stop himself he snaps his phone shut. it's the click of his phone that reverberates in his ears. it's like a click of finality. He didn't know if Chibs told Happy that he was helping Juice get out of Charming. The few people his ma left in Charming to keep watch told him that when their fake ashes were delivered to the club, there was only a small gathering of people. Venus, a few girls from Diosa, Chibs and Happy out of respect but no one else. He still doesn’t know if Happy hates him.

The phone rings in his hand. Happy number flashes up on screen, the blinking digits are tempting him. His throat is dry but he picks up the phone anyway, holding his breath as he lifts it to his ear. He knows, he can hear Happy breathing and he thinks that Happy might just be as nervous as he is.

“San Francisco, with Juice.” He says it softly. He's taking a chance, there's the possibility that Happy will take it into his own hands, find him and by association, Juice and murder them both. “Please don't tell Jax.” The plea already sounds desperate. 

“Jax? Jax is dead.” The news doesn't shock him like he knows it should. All he can feel is the absolute relief swelling in his chest.

“Fuck.” It's a revelation. his fingers are shaking around the phone, he knows because he can feel the phone click against his earring. “Fuck, Hap what happened?” He knows if he starts talking any louder then Juice will overhear him.

“Went out like his old man did on purpose.” The fact irks him. Jax practically rode Juice’s ass for trying to kill himself but he's allowed to do whatever he wants, allowed to take his own life without consequence.

“Shit is Gemma okay? Abel, Wendy, Thomas?” The line is quiet for a moment, before he hears Happy sigh.

“Gemma’s dead, she killed Tara not the Chinese. Nero and Wendy have the boys taken them away with his kid.” This, It, feels weird, like the floor drops out from under his feet. His hands are clammy, like they always get when he feels the world slow down around him. He doesn’t realize his phone is clattering across the concrete until Juice is hovering in front of him. He knows that Happy is yelling because his voice is coming through the tinny speaker of his prepaid when it never usually does. 

Juice picks up his phone and freezes when he hears Happy’s voice. Sverri wants to move, to reach out for Juice and to turn his phone off. He wants to shut the world out with Juice and pretend that the Sons didn’t exist. He can hear Juice talking.

Juice is talking on his phone to Happy.

He doesn’t say anything, he can’t, it’s like he’s stuck into a different place, like he’s stuck out of his own head and body. He knows he’s moving, or at least trying too. Juice isn’t gone and talking for long. Within minutes he’s hovering in front of Sverri with his hands on his cheeks and his voice is a lmost distorted and blurry when he talks to him.

“Juicy.” He knows it’s all he can get out at the moment, hoping Juice can figure out what he needs from his plea. Juice is good at that, despite all his own demons he’s amazing at picking up Sverri’s pieces when he breaks down. Juice is quick to act, he moves Sverri out of the main garage into the office at the back of the garage, closing the door behind them when Sverri clutches at the desk inside while leaning against it. 

Juice grazes his thumbs against the line of his jaw, pulls him in and kisses him deeply. After he pulls away, he holds his hands up into his view and touches his lips to the tips of his fingers. He counts as he does it, calming Sverri down.

By the time Sverri isn’t freaking out, Juice has counted to seventy-three with his fingers and his lips. Juice slips his hands into Sverri’s pockets, pulls the pill bottle from his pocket. Sverri shakes his head when Juice tries to twist the cap off. “I already took one.” Juice nods at that. He cups Sverri’s cheek again, pressing his forehead against him. Juice’s eyelashes flutter against his cheek and his chest is lighter. He pushes his shoulders back, tries to take a deep breath and he can feel the relief that washes over him, goes from head to toe and settles deep in his bones.

Once he has faith that he isn’t going to drop anything and he can stand steady on his feet. Sverri wobbles over and sits himself down on the couch in the office, pulls himself closer to Juice with his heels and hugs his arms around his waist. Juice scratches his fingers into his hair, nails dragging against his scalp kindly.

“Why’d you call Happy?” Juice doesn’t sound mad with him.

“Needed to know if they knew about you, if they knew and had a Mayhem vote..” Sverri’s voice is still shaking when he says that, the only part of him that is still shaking. “Needed to know if Chibs and Tig were real about it. Only one I trust enough is Hap. They didn’t vote to kill you, they didn’t do fuck all after...” He presses his cheek against Juice’s stomach, steadying his breathing. 

Juice smooths his hands flat onto his hair, gently massaging his scalp. “After we faked our deaths.” Juice’s voice is quiet, soft. His hands are gentle as they stroke the side of Sverri’s head. “Happy said he’s coming down to see you. Needs to know that you’re okay. He wants an address in the next hour.” 

“I don't think I can face him.” He admits it softly. “I don't know if it's a good idea.”

Juice tucks his longer hair behind his ear, tilts his face up to look at him. It's Juices way of saying he supports him, without needing the words. He brushes his thumb over Sverri’s bottom lip and it brings a smile to his face, a familiar gesture. He pokes his tongue out, showing off his the bejeweled J of his tongue piercing on it, something Juice got for him as a joke, while they were easing back into the physical aspects of their relationship. He can feel Juice stiffen against him with a soft moan, he knows that he’s pretty much teasing Juice indirectly by poking his tongue out, something they both enjoy. He presses his face back into Juice’s stomach, playfully tucking his hands up Juice’s hoodie. He murmurs something against Juice that’s muffled and Juice chuckles at him, his fingers still in hair.

“It’s like our first time.” Juice jokes while scratching his fingers against his scalp. “You’re just as pretty as you were before.” The fact that Juice remembers it makes him flush all the way up to roots of his blond hair. 

Sverri pulls away with a grin plastered on his face, his cheeks red. “Call me it again then.” He pokes his tongue out, tilting his head back and wiggling slightly with his arms still around Juice’s waist. He slides off the couch, albeit a little awkwardly, but does it and gets onto his knees without falling over.

“Fuck you’re still a pretty boy.” Juice’s voice is rough, strained. He knows it’s something that Juice likes, when he’s on his knees in front of him. Juice’s fingers tighten in his hair and pull when he dips his face closer to his thigh. His fingers grip each other before he slides his hands down Juice’s thighs, gripping them with a small gasp when he pulls on his hair.

Juice pulls his head back, rubs over his bottom lip with his thumb. Sverri darts his tongue out and wraps it around his thumb, sucks on it playfully. His lips spread into a smirk around Juice’s thumb when Juice lets out a soft string of strained curses.

The grip in his hair tightens, and there's an obvious flush settled across Juice’s face. From where he's kneeling all Sverri can see, all that he can want is Juice, in front of him, above him. He feels Juice twitch, a telltale sign that Juice is waiting for him to move, and so he does. 

He's a bit hasty when he shuffles an inch closer and fumbles with Juice’s jeans, fingers grasping at the zipper. It's a little rushed when he presses his face into Juice’s crotch, Juice is hard in his boxers, right in front of his face and he wants to get his mouth on him. The curl of Juices fingers gets him to do exactly that. He pulls at Juices boxers, gets them down his thighs with his jeans and mouths at Juice’s length. 

The groan Juice lets out when he takes him into his mouth is intoxicating, Sverri get slides his hand across Juices thigh, urges him to set the pace. Juice fucks his throat with a steady rhythm, the hand in his hair guiding his head down. Sverri looks up at him through hooded eyes, a smile tugging on the corner of his lips when Juice moans and lets out a string of curses.

“Christ Sver.” Juice rubs a thumb over his cheekbones when he hollows them and sucks, teases the underside of Juice’s shaft with his tongue.

He swallows around him, takes him further into his throat until his nose is pressed against Juices skin and he's gagging slightly. Juice lets out a choked out groan when he does that, a short warning before he cums down his throat. 

Juice cradles his head for a moment before he pulls his head back. Over his head, Juice reaches over to the table and he can hear him pulling tissues from the box. He cleans himself up, uses a clean tissue to wipe the spit from Sverri’s bottom lip. 

Juice zips himself up before he pulls Sverri up from his knees and into his arms. Sverri is hard against his hip, already panting when he catches him in another kiss. He pulls away and stares, looking at Juice like he's fallen for him all over again. He ignores how hard he is in his jeans, doesn't need to get off. He just slides his arms around Juice and drops them both onto the couch to kiss him over and over again.

They eventually pull away from each other when Julio pushes the door open. He sighs at them, shakes his head but isn't actually mad, just laughs with a fond smile.

“One of those things?” It wasn't unusual for them to retreat into the office if either of them got too overwhelmed. “You boys okay?”

“I had to call someone from the club.” Sverri knows he can't keep his pa in the dark about it. “I needed to know if they knew about Juice. Happy’s coming up to see if I'm okay.” 

“And do they? Know about Juice?” 

Sverri shakes his head. Juice slings his arm around his shoulder, affectionately grazing his fingers against his cheek.

“Happy thought we were still both dead. Juice spoke to him after I freaked out.” 

“ _ Lo siento mijo. _ ” His pa’s voice is quiet. “I'll ask one of the boys to trail you back to your apartment, come get you guys in the morning if that will make you feel safer?”

“No, no pa it's alright. I can deal with Happy.”

“By deal with you don't mean  _ ‘deal with’ _ right?” It's said as a joke, but Sverri shakes his head and drops his head into his hands.

“I don't know if he's gonna understand. If he's gonna be pissed off when he realizes I ditched the entire club to protect Juice. Happy is the embodiment of loyalty pa.” He can remember the tattoo he's seen on Happy a million times.  _ I live, I die, I kill for my family.  _ A fair share of his tattoos come from Happy, he has his own similar one across his shoulder blade.  _ Family is what you make, not what you're born into. _ An important reminder that his family was more than his blood. “Fuck it's going to be so messed up.”

“Then he should understand. You weren't loyal to that patch, you were loyal to Juice.” Leave it to his pa to be the voice of reason when he was trying to pick apart his own decisions. “Juice is your family. Just as much as they were. You choose your family remember,  _ mijo _ , that's what you told me when you were flying out to Charming to join the Sons, like your real pa did.”

“What if I can't face him?” 

“You can.” It's Juice who speaks, rubbing a hand across his shoulders. “I'll be right next to you the entire time.”  

“I can't forc-” Juice shushes him, practically clamps a hand over his mouth.

“I am here for you. Just like you were for me. We do this together.” Juice looks expectantly. He knows what Juice wants him to say.

“Or we don't do this at all.” He finishes. “Yeah I know baby.”

“Now I don't want to interrupt the moment were having  _ mijo _ , but you wanna get back to work before your friends come back.” His pa says with a laugh. “Also don't think I saw one of them riding off with your Dyna. If she doesn't comes back in one piece…”

“Then Tig isn't going back to Charming in one piece.” Sverri confirms and laughs when his pa ruffles his head. 

“I guessed you threatened him with that. It was your favourite when you were fourteen.”

“Yeah yeah teenager me was just as possessive as he is now, I know pa.” Sverri brushes his hands across his thighs with a laugh. Their banter has him relaxed, loose limbed against Juice on the couch. He and Juice push themselves to their feet, glancing out through the window into the garage. “I can't really work on Tig’s bike until I get new parts.” He scratches the back of his neck as he and Juice step out of the room. “But I gave a list to Armando as soon as I checked her out properly and he threw it in with this morning's order so they might be here after lunch.”

“Yeah your older brother has always been good about those things. Christ knows we wouldn't get anywhere without him.” His pa follows them out of the office. He heads over to the bike Juice is working on. It's almost done. The owner will be back later this afternoon to pick it up. 

“She's looking good son.” He can hear his pa say to Juice. It makes him smile when he hears his pa call Juice that, to see them get along so well. He knows Juice appreciate them, appreciates how his family has accepted him without any conditions. 

“Thanks, I think with a touch up of paint on the scratches she’ll be good to go.” Juice sounds excited to be talking the bike he’d been working on for the last few days.

 

* * *

 

When Tig and Chibs get back to the garage, Sverri and Juice are laughing and chasing each other around the garage with grease covered hands. Juice has always been the faster one out of the both of them, ducking and side stepping out of his way. They’d been going on around and chasing each other for the better part of an hour.

Chibs has to bite back a chuckles when Juice dodges Sverri before pulling him into a headlock, rubbing his greasy hands all over Scerri’s face with a loud laugh.

“Seems like some things don’t change!” Sverri whips his head around first, jerking his body from Juice’s headlock with ease as his hand heads straight for his gun. When he spots Chibs and Tig,  _ and his baby _ , he relaxes, pressing his back against Juice’s chest.

“We never did.” Juice speaks to him. He’s wary, Chibs can see that. He holds himself behind Sverri but his hand is protectively splayed over Sverri’s heart. He and Sverri sway slightly, and Juice leans in to press a firm kiss to the side of Sverri’s head before he props his chin on Sverri’s shoulder.

Juice looks healthier. He looks happier. His hollow cheeks have pudge on them. He has no bags under his eyes but his smile lines are more prominent, like he’s actually been smiling in the years he hasn’t seen him. His hair is grown out, not a full grown hawk but it was more a hawk than the faux hawk he had when Juice had joined the Sons. With his hair like that Juice looks more youthful, looks more like he belongs to the rest of the world instead of running guns and murdering people.

“How long are you staying in San Joan?” Sverri is what breaks his eyes away from how different Juice looks. 

“Not too long lad, we should be gone in a few days.” Chibs fiddles with the leather of his gloves, slipping them off. “Just making sure business is solid.” 

“I understand that, but.” Sverri still doesn’t trust either of them. “There are things we don’t need here, trouble is one of those things.”

“Sverri you can’t talk about trouble isn’t Armando dating Coco?” The chastise is soft, whispered into his ear and he has to sigh and admit he’s wrong.

“Who is it with, so I can at least make sure it won’t blow back on us.” He knows it’s not with the new Mayans charter, if not his brother would have told him, he and Coco would have warned him.

“Some of the Nomads want to settle down and start a charter here.” It brings a frown to his face. “We heard that Mayans were setting up so we thought it was worth the trip down, see if we could carve out territories and alliances.”

“No.” Sverri’s voice is loud, firm and angry. “No. You are not bringing the Sons to San Joan, not here.” Juice’s hold on him has gone from gentle to clutching at him. It takes Chibs and TIg a while before they realize that Juice’s arms are tense and he’s physically holding Sverri back. 

“Lad.” Chibs voice doesn’t really cause Sverri to settle, it actually looks like Sverri wants to claw at him or tackle him and beat the shit out of him. “We were just scoping and checking the availability of it.”

“San Joan doesn’t  _ need _ that toxicity!” Sverri’s voice is just getting louder as he yells while Juice holds him back. “We don’t need that kind of shit here Chibs, we don’t want that here. We don’t need anyone else getting involved with people who use and abuse on their own terms and can’t take shit back.” He knows that a couple of the guys have come out from inside of the garage, Armando being one of them. Juice is still holding him back, pressed him against  his chest. 

Sverri is pissed off. He wants his gun in his hand, wants to point it at Chibs and Tig and threaten them to leave his home alone, to leave Juice and their peace alone. The fight leaves him suddenly, when Juice whispers in his ear and he slumps against Juice’s chest, a weak protest coming from his mouth. 

Armando has to take him from Juice, with an arm under his his armpits. He can hear Juice trying to diffuse the situation while Armando has to sit him down. His brother is well versed in taking care of his panic, and his anger. Armando lifts his hands and soothes his shoulders. He knows Armando is itching to fight just like he is, but he can’t start a war, neither of them can.

Juice has always been the calmer of the both of them and when he finally lifts his head to look over at he can see that Juice is diffusing the situation without so much as a look of anger on his face. It makes his face scrunch up and he feels bad for blowing up. Armando looks at him, meets his eyes and asks if he’s okay.

“I’m okay.” To himself, he honestly sounds tired. “Promise, I just, all that shit was toxic Mando, real bad, everyone acted like being brothers is all important but they fucked Juice over so bad, they hurt him.” His elbows are pressing into the tops of his thighs and he can feel all that hurt bubbling in his chest.

“I know  _ hermanito _ .” Armando is soft, but his words carry a weight to them. He knows Armando speaks from experience. Armando knows. His brother knows the shit he’s been through just as well as Sverri has all his thoughts rolling around in head. 

When Sverri feels like he isn’t going to try and stick a knife into either Chibs and Tig, he walks back over to where they’re standing with Juice. As he gets closer he can hear Juice explaining why they don’t want a Charter to set up in San Joan. The hand he places on Juice’s shoulder doesn’t stop Juice from talking, but he leans into Sverri’s touch while he keeps going. 

“San Joan is off limits from the Sons. I’m sorry. But we can’t have that kind of shit in our town.” Sverri knows the tone in Juice’s voice, it’s firm and there’s finality as he says the words. “The Sons of Anarchy aren’t welcome to set up down here, besides, Mayans have the entire town in their territory. We don’t want another war.” 

"I'm fixing your bike, and then the both of you are riding back up to Charming, where you'll be telling anyone who asks that San Joan is off limits to the Sons." He and Juice stand firm. Armando is hovering behind the both of them with his arms crossed over his chest. "That's not a suggestion Chibs." 

"We know lad." Chibs sounds apologetic. "We know." 

 

* * *

 

 

The parts for Tig's come in the next shipment, on Tuesday morning when Sverri is slouched on his favourite wheelie stool with an iced coffee in his hand. It's not entirely a big job, but with the dark cloud hanging over him it's harder for Sverri to focus on just fixing the bike. Part of him knows that Chibs isn't en he me , he knows that Chibs will respect the fact that the Sons aren't welcome in town, but the other part of him, that saw how broken Juice looked when he met Chibs in that diner feels angry and vengeful.

He gets stuck into his work. He starts from scratch, dismantling Tig's bike until all the parts are laid out in front of him, and then he dives back in, pulls parts together with deft fingers and Juice helping him by handing him whatever he asks for. The ice in is coffee melts, forgotten as he gets engrossed in building up Tig's bike from the ground up. The condensation drips down his work bench and has left a puddle by the time he's done. From nine in the morning, until the lights have switched on overhead and Juice is dozing off next to him, he spends it hunched over Tig's bike until he's done.

The tips of his fingers are sore, as is his back from being hunched over. Juice is in the office on the couch, with his head lolled back and soft snores coming from his mouth. Sverri rolls over, dragging himself by digging his ankles into the concrete and pulling his way across the garage. The sound of his wheeling shakes Juice out of his nap and he tiredly looks over at him in the doorway. 

"She's done." He pushes himself off of his wheelie stool and groans when he he stretches, His back cracks when he stretches before he falls onto the counch next to Juice. Juice slides his hands across his shoulders, pushes his tumbs into the knots he can feel.

"I'm proud of you." The compliment sets a flush across his cheeks.

"Thank you love." Juice leans into him, presses a kiss to his temple.

"C'mon, we gotta lock up right?" Juice is the one his pa trusts with the keys, and it's fair enough. Sverri when he's working late has a bad habit of fogetting to lock things up or turn the lights off when he's there on his own.

It doesn't bother Juice though, to babysit him. Juice sends him out into the lot, asks him to get into the car and turn on the heater so that the cool air doesn't bite when they start driving. When he's sitting in the seat of the car, his hands on the wheels, he feels the cloud of concern above him get shoved away when he spots Juice's shilouette in the doorway.

They had a life, a new one. A good one.

No one could change that.

 

* * *

 

 

Chips and Tig are long gone back to Charming when they get news that Happy’s arrived. What surprises him when Happy shows up, is that Happy doesn’t look like he’s rolling in from Charming. Behind him is Coco, with his helmet strapped to his handlebars as he cruises into the courtyard of their garage. Armando is surprised, and happily so, he goes out to greet him, past Happy, who’s staring at him and Juice like he’s seen ghosts, and to be honest, he has.

Armando and Coco leave the garage almost immediately. Coco is barely off of his bike before he’s back on it and Armando straddles his own bike with a grin on his face, rolling out of the courtyard as if they were never there. Sverri knows they’re going to have a private reunion at Armando’s place, where they’ll probably fuck for hours and then hold each other or the other way around because it hurts living six hours away from each other and having busy lives.

Happy however, is taking up the rest of his attention. The older man is standing still. His hands are clenched till his knuckles are white but he’s silent. Happy doesn’t say a word, the toothpick in his mouth flicks up, then down, then up again, and then down. He steps forward, and it’s hesitant, like if he gets any closer both him and Juice are going to disappear.

“Heya Hap.” Sverri steps a tiny bit closer and then Happy is clasping his hand and pulling him into a silent, strong hug.

“You’re alive brother.” Happy murmurs into his hair. When he doesn't respond but hugs him back just as tight he can hear Happy inhale sharply against him, before he’s being let go and the taller man bounds forward to pull Juice into a tight hug as well. 

“Hey there Hap!” Juice sounds, excited, to be seeing Happy. It catches the both of them off guard, but then Juice’s smile is blinding. Sverri realizes that he doesn’t actually know what Juice and Happy said to each other on the phone but it must’ve been good if Juice isn’t acting terrified of Happy.

He wraps his arms tighter around Happy, which makes the man let out a small off before Happy’s cradling him just like he cradled Sverri. 

“Where have the two of you been?” Happy pulls away from Juice and looks between the both of them. 

“Living with family.” Sverri’s voice is soft as Happy slings his arm around both him and Juice’s shoulders. 

“Juice’s family? I thought they were in Queens?”

“No you numpty, my family. My brother Armando is the one who rode out of here with Coco.” The laugh he lets out catches Happy off guard, and he glances between the open gate of the garage and Sverri’s face.

“Wait Armando is your brother?” Happy sounds confused and Sverri has to hold himself back from facepalming. 

“Yeah did you… not pick that up? We have the same last name Hap.”

“Well, you look nothing alike.” He’s got a pseudo-Happy-esque pout on his face. "Besides he never mentioned 

“This is my pa’s garage, Armando works part-time at a bar and I work down at the gym.” Sverri gestures with his shoulder at the garage before pointing in a direction somewhere down the street. “Juice works here with my pa.” 

"I need to know, what happened inside?" Straight to business as always. He motions towards the garage. Happy trails behind him and Juice, and once they're inside, he closes the door behind him. Juice gets comfortable on the couch, while Happy leans against the desk. "What happened?" He repeats. It's not rough, nor is he trying to push. He wants to understand how the rest of them didn't know.

"Before Juice and I went inside, I called my mother. Birth mother." When Happy's face doesn't change, Sverri continues. "She's got connections, with the Irish, up in Armagh. Sent a bunch of money down to me that she was going to give me once I turned twenty-five. Juicy killed Lin, and then I killed Tully for trying to kill Juicy." He lifts his hand up to show Happy the scar, the tattooed feathers on his fingers wiggling along with his fingers. "Scalpel went straight through my hand and into Juice's neck. Used the money my ma sent to pay off the DA's to cut a deal. We spent six months in recovery and then she had my pa take me and Juicy in." 

"How come no one knew your mother was Irish? How come Chibs didn't?"

"None of y'all asked." Sverri shrugs, and Juice slides a hand into his. "I would've told you if you asked, if anyone asked. Besides Sverri Luis Cortez isn't a very Irish sounding name is it." 

"Fair point. So the photos?" Happy lifts his eyes from the scar, before flicking them between him and Juice. 

"Faked after the DA on my ma's payroll paid off the staff in the prison's hospital wing." He remembers looking at the photos, how dead and lifeless both he and Juice looked laying on thepale blue of the hospital beds. What hurt was that Juice's wasn't close to being faked. They'd snapped the photos just after he'd got out of surgery. Slapped fake blood across his wound and face and took pictures of a druged up Juice. 

"And the both of you? This relationship you've got?" 

"Solid for the last five and a half years Hap." Juice speaks up then while he's rubbing his thumb along the scar Sverri has. "We're good. We've gone really good." The way Juice says it makes him lean in to press a kiss to Juice's temple.

"I'm glad. When he disappeared after you took off Juice." Happy looks pointedly at him. "I didn't know what to think at first." 

There's that guilt. The guilt Sverri had been so worried about bubbles back into the pit of his stomach. 

"But then when Chibs told me he saw you with Juicy, I figured out." His voice didn't hold any anger in it. All Happy did was give them both the smallest hint of a smile. "I understand. We didn't treat Juice like a brother, and he was important to you." Happy finally ditched the toothpick he had in his mouth, flicking it over towards the trashcan. "We should have done better to make sure that you felt like you could trust us." The comment is directed at Juice. "We should have acted like brothers. Treated you like a brother. That's what was important. I don't blame either of you for leaving. Or how you reacted to Tig and Chibs when they showed up here." 

The guilt in the pit of his stomach fell flat.  


"Thank you Hap." His voice is soft. He hopes Happy can hear how grateful he is in his voice.

"We should have done better, for the both of you." The glittering look in Happy's eyes is all that gives him away, that he's feeling something under his silence. Sverri pulls Juice closer and shoots a smile at the man. His sponsor. The man who essentially gave him Juice.

"Road goes both ways _brother_." The words coming from Juice carry so much more meaning when he catches the look on Juice's face. "If I'd trusted you guys with what Roosevelt was doing to me, we wouldn't have been in so much shit." The smile on Juice's face is sad, forlorn and he looks like he's lost and he's found all at once.  


"Both ways is right." Happy leans forward. "You can always trust me brother." The fact that Happy says it back has Juice relaxing into him. The older man stands, and his frame is relaxed. 

"Thank you." Juice stands and meets his eyes.

Happy walks out of the office. He and Juice watch his retreating back head toward his bike. As he slides his arm around Juice, he can hear him whispering another soft " _thank you._ "


End file.
